What a great Blue and White meet last night!  THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered, pitched in and helped the meet run so smoothly.  LOVED seeing all of the BLUE too!  SPECIAL THANKS to EVERYONE that helped prep the pool deck to set up for the meet and to Coaches, swimmers and everyone that helped break down the meet at the end of the night!

We are STILL IN NEED of a VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR.  This person is responsible for monitoring pre-meet volunteer sign-ups using Team Unify system, including email reminders about sign-ups and sending out requests for additional volunteers as needed during the season. The Volunteer Coordinator also prints/prepares name badges for each meet.  This is done from home, on-line.   During each meet - the coordinator is responsible for checking in volunteers and handing out name tags and clip boards at the beginning of the meet and half way through the meet.  BONUS:  You don’t have to sign up for any other job during the meet!  If you are interested in helping us, Please Let Us Know ASAP!

Tomorrow night is our first dual meet and is also at Gulf Park.  Help us be the hosts with the most by RSVPing, Sign Up NOW to Volunteer, and of course be ready to Swim and have FUN!

We will be swimming our dual meet schedule for Thursday and all other Dual Meets; we will start with individual I.M.s (this is when one swimmer swims the four different swimming styles, beginning with Breaststroke, then Backstroke, Butterfly and ending with Freestyle in one race), then Freestyle, Medley relays (same strokes as the IM but four swimmers in the event), Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and ending with the Free Relays.

As a reminder the information for the meet is below:

Peninsular Club @ Gulf Park Meet  

Our first Dual meet is TOMORROW – help us show Peninsula Club how AWESOME our sharks are at pulling together and putting on a Great FUN Meet.  TODAY is the DAY to SIGN UP and Volunteer to help our meet go smoothly.  Please note the VOLUNTEER positions STILL NEEDED below:

When: 

Thursday, June 8th

Time:

Warm Ups begin at 4:30 & the Meet will begin at 5:30 sharp.  All swimmers should be at the pool, settled, and ready to get in the water by 4:30. 

Spirit Theme:
Do you LOVE ‘em? Do you ROOT for ‘em?  Then SHOW us who is your FAVORITE SPORTS Team is?  Show your BLUE SHARK SPIRIT tomorrow by dressing up for the theme “Favorite Sports Team!”  Best dressed gets a small prize!

Availability:
Go to the team website https://gulfpark.swim-team.us/  and sign into your account.  On the home page you will see the PClub Meet under the Events Header.  Click on the RSVP icon to declare your child's availability!   This must usually be done at least 2 days prior to each swim meet for your swimmer to be scheduled properly in the meet!  Best to go ahead and edit your swimmers availability now for all meets; you can always go back and edit later if the need arises.

Volunteers:
We require each family to provide a volunteer for at least 1/2 of the meet. It truly takes a village to put on the meet and we need all hands on deck!!  We still need SEVERAL spots filled for TOMORROW.   The Following are still Needed:

Positions Needed	Half Needed
Finish Judge	1
Finish Overcall Judge	2
Hospitality	1
Hospitality	2
Hospitality	2
Hospitality	2
Hospitality - Grillmaster	1
Hospitality - Grillmaster	2
Hospitality - Grillmaster	2
Hospitality - Setup	1
Hospitality - Setup	1
Hospitality - Teardown	1
Hospitality - Teardown	1
Hospitality - Teardown	1
Marshall	2
Parking (before meet)	1
Parking (before meet)	1
Referee (whole meet)	Whole meet
Scoring - paper scoring	1
Starter (whole meet)	Whole meet
Water Runner	1

To sign up - Go to the team website https://gulfpark.swim-team.us/ and sign into your account.  On the home page you will see an events listing and you will see the PClub meet listed.  Click on the V button to declare your volunteer position!   If you have any questions about any jobs, please feel free to ask!!   Meet workers should check in with Jennifer Manrod when you arrive at the meet – preferably by 4:45pm.

Parking:  Very Important!!!!!
GREAT JOB everyone last night – remember that tomorrow we will have another team with us – so this will be even more critical –

You may park in the lower lot or along one side of the street in the neighborhood or pull in at the upper lot of off cedar bluff and park in the grass. It is CRITICAL that you be mindful of the residents in the neighborhood when street parking.  Please do not park in the cul-de-sac, do not block driveways, and only park on ONE SIDE of the street throughout the neighborhood.  It is also critical that you do NOT park in the upper pool lot off of Cedar Bluff or block that driveway - we must keep that clear to allow for emergency vehicles.

(Please take note of the one side of the street parking regulations or you may have to leave the meet to move your car!).

Food:
We urge you all to "Eat at the Meet" and have two areas to serve you.  On the side of the pool nearest the kiddie pool, our concession stand will be open and features packaged snacks, sports drinks, and ice cream.

Our Hospitality area is called the SHARK BITES CAFE, it will be set up with tents at home meets.  We serve grilled and homemade meals and snacks just for swim meets.  We offer burgers, hotdogs, grilled chicken, salads, fresh fruit and assorted side dishes and desserts.

Our best values are the combo meals, all priced $4-$7, and include two sides and bottled/canned beverages or refillable lemonade.  You will be getting much more detailed concession information from our fabulous hospitality crew soon!!

What to Bring:
For those of you, who are new to the team, please pack a towel, folding chairs, goggles, swim cap and a sweatshirt.  A sharpie pen is also handy for jotting your events on your hand for reference.  Many kids also bring hand held electronics, books or playing cards to pass time between events.  (Please be mindful that swimmers are responsible for all of these belongings).

Misc. Notes...
8 and under parents:  Please help your little ones get to their mark on time.  Pay attention to the order of events (the event number is on display at the starters table) and direct them to the blocks where a volunteer will line them up.  Please bring them to the clerking board for relays, we will need assistance separating them and getting them to the correct sides of the pool.  At our pool, all events finish on the Cedar Bluff side of the pool!

Please be sure to check the event boards when you arrive for the most up to date swimmer information!!
 It is especially important to take note of relays; Free Relays are the last events of the evening.  If your child is scheduled to swim the Free Relay and will be unable to stay for that event, it is imperative to let a Meet Director or Coach know as soon as possible.  Remember the relays affect all 4 scheduled swimmers and in many cases a swim meet score is decided by these last events!

Ribbons:  As in 2016, 2017 meets, ribbons will be made for swimmers 12 and under.  In the past we have found that 13 and up swimmers are not as interested in ribbons; therefore, to save time and money, 13 and up swimmers will only receive ribbons upon specific request.  Ribbons are available at swim practice within 5 days after the meet.

Reminder: No smoking or alcohol at swim meets
Per GKAISA rules, all smoking and alcoholic beverages are absolutely prohibited at the pool area in all GKAISA meets - Dual, Tri, Relay and Championship.

Traditions: Gulf Park Blue Sharks have been swimming since 1970, and we have many time-honored traditions. At the end of every home meet, the whole team dances "the time warp" and leaps into the pool. These traditions began long before us, and will continue as long as there is a blue shark at gulf park!

Your Gulf Park Blue Shark Meet Directors,

Matt and Jennifer Manrod

Special thanks to our Sponsor:

Wieniewitz Financial